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INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Meade114 EQ-ASB
4.5" Equatorial Reflecting Telescope
Meade Instruments Corporation
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– 2 – WARNING! NEVER USE A MEADE 114 EQ-ASB TELESCOPE TO LOOK AT THE SUN! LOOKING AT OR NEAR THE SUN WILL CAUSE INSTANT AND IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO YOUR EYE. EYE DAMAGE IS OFTEN PAINLESS, SO THERE IS NO WARNING TO THE OBSERVER THAT DAMAGE HAS OCCURRED UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE. DO NOT POINT THE TELESCOPE OR ITS VIEWFINDER AT OR NEAR THE SUN. DO NOT LOOK THROUGH THE TELESCOPE OR ITS VIEWFINDER AS IT IS MOVING. CHILDREN SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE ADULT SUPERVISION WHILE OBSERVING. Meade Limited Warranty Every M
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– 3 – TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Standard Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Unpacking and Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Balancing the Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Alignment of the Viewfinder. . . . .
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– 4 – Key to Fig. 1 1. Tripod legs 25. Telescope front dust cover 2. Equatorial mount 26. Viewfinder bracket thumbscrews 3. R.A. flexible cable control 27. R.A. setting circle 4. Dec. flexible cable control 28. Dec. setting circle 5. Counterweight 29. Latitude dial 6. Counterweight shaft 30. Azimuth lock 7. Counterweight lock 31. Focus knobs 8. Safety washer/thumbscrew 32. Optional motor drive gear (option not 9. Latitude lock (reverse side, see inset) available with this model) 10. Polar axi
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– 5 – 26 24 13 21 28 36 10 20 Reverse 16 26 34 side 23 6 5 7 Fig. 1a: Model 114 EQB-1: Viewfinder assembly. 27 22 45 19 18 32 44 8 9 29 35 18 Reverse Side 11 33 17 38 30 31 Fig. 1c: Model 114 EQ-ASB: Equatorial mount. Fig. 1b: Model 114 EQ-ASB: Focuser. 24 19 14 25 15 12 37 1 42 2 4 41 40 3 39 43 Fig. 1d: Model 114 EQ-ASB: Tripod and tray. Fig. 1e: Model 114 EQ-ASB: Optical tube assembly.
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– 6 – INTRODUCTION The Meade 114 EQ-ASB is an easy-to-operate, high performance 4.5" (114mm) reflecting telescope, intended for astronomical observing. Equipped with a deluxe equatorial mount and aluminum tripod, the telescope’s motion is continuously adjustable for tracking celestial objects. Your telescope comes to you ready for adventure; it will be your companion in a universe of planets, galaxies, and stars. Please note that the Meade 114 EQ-ASB is a Newtonian reflecting telescope optimized
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– 7 – • Remove the viewfinder bracket mounting nuts from the viewfinder bracket mounting bolts (16) that protrude from the optical tube (12), near the focuser (17). Place the viewfinder bracket’s mounting holes (located at the base of the bracket) over the mounting bolts, so that the bracket is oriented as shown in Fig. 1. Replace the viewfinder bracket mounting nuts, and tighten to a firm feel. Then center the viewfinder in both bracket rings by backing off the three thumbscrews (26) on each br
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n o s i a n i l c é D – 8 – • Check this alignment on a celestial object, such as a bright star or the Moon, and make any refinements necessary, using the method outlined above. With this alignment performed, objects first located in the wide-field viewfinder will also be centered in the main telescope’s field of view. (Note: The viewfinder presents an image which is upside-down.) UNDERSTANDING CELESTIAL MOVEMENTS AND COORDINATES Understanding where to locate celestial objects, and how those obj
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– 9 – South of the celestial equator are indicated with a minus (–) sign (e.g., the Dec. of the South celestial pole is –90°). Any point on the celestial equator (such as the the constellations of Orion, Virgo, and Aquarius) is said to have a Declination of zero, shown as 0° 0' 0." With all celestial objects therefore capable of being specified in position by their celestial coordinates of Right Ascension and Declination, the task of finding objects (in particular, faint objects) in the telesco
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– 10 – • To center an object in the main telescope, loosen the telescope’s R.A. lock (22, Fig. 1c) and Dec. lock (23, Fig. 1c). The telescope can now turn freely on its axes. Use the aligned viewfinder to first sight-in on the object you wish to observe; with the object centered on the viewfinder’s crosshairs, re-tighten the R.A. and Dec. locks. • If you have purchased an assortment of eyepieces (see Section G on Calculating Power and Section J on Optional Accessories for higher and lower powers
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– 11 – • The Moon: A veritable treasury of craters, mountain ranges and fault lines. The best contrast for viewing the Moon is during its crescent phase. The contrast during the full Moon phase is low due to the angle of illumination. • Deep-Space: Nebulae, galaxies, multiple star systems, star clusters–hundreds of such objects are visible through the Meade 114 EQ-ASB. USING SETTING CIRCLES Setting circles of the polar aligned equatorial mount can facilitate the location of faint celestial obj
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– 12 – MAINTENANCE Cleaning As with any quality instrument, lens or mirror surfaces should be cleaned as infrequently as possible. Front surface aluminized mirrors, in particular, should be cleaned only when absolutely necessary. In all cases avoid touching any mirror surface. A little dust on the surface of a mirror or lens causes negligible loss of performance and should not be considered reason to clean the surface. When lens or mirror cleaning does become necessary, use a camel’s hair brush
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– 13 – position. Then, if necessary, make adjustments to these 3 Phillips-head Remove screws to refine the tilt-angle of the diagonal mirror until the entire primary adhesive mirror can be seen centered within the diagonal mirror reflection. When the backing diagonal mirror is correctly aligned, it will look like Fig. 9. (Note: the primary mirror is shown out of alignment.) 2 1 c. Primary mirror adjustments If the diagonal mirror (1, Fig. 9) and the reflection of the primary mirror (2, Fig. 9) a
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– 14 – 1 1 2 3 2 3 4 2 5 Fig. 7: Correct Collimation. Fig. 8: Diagonal Mirror Misalignment. 1 2 3 4 Fig. 9: Primary Mirror Misalignment. AB C Fig. 10: Collimation.
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– 15 – SPECIFICATIONS Primary (main) mirror focal length: . . . . . .1000mm Primary mirror diameter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.5" (114mm) Focal ratio: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .f/8 Mounting: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .German equatorial OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES See your Meade 114 EQ-ASB dealer for further details on any of these accessories. Additional Eyepieces (1.25"): Meade offers a wide line of eyepieces for enhanced astronomical and/or terrestrial
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AD VANCED PR ODUCTS DIVISION Meade Instruments Corporation World’s Leading Manufacturer of Astronomical Telescopes for the Serious Amateur 6001 Oak Canyon, Irvine, California 92618 n (949) 451-1450 04057-00 ver 4/04 FAX: (949) 451-1460 n www.meade.com © 2004
